Located between the towns of Gloucester and Rockport Massachusetts, Dogtown was established as a settlement for European immigrants in 1693. It began as a thriving community of small farms, but experienced a quick decline after the Revolutionary War. By then, it was rumored to be a refuge for vagabonds and witches. It was allegedly nicknamed “dogtown” after the last residents died in the 1820’s and their pets became feral.

Accidental millionaire and longtime Gloucester resident Roger Babson took great interest in dogtown during the Great Depression. In effort to inspire others to pull themselves out of poverty, he hired unemployed Finnish stone carvers to inscribe several large boulders scattered across several square miles with his words of wisdom. Among these inscriptions are “Keep out of debt”, “Get a job”, and “If work stops, values decay”. He commissioned 36 of these Babson Boulders and they can still be seen in Dogtown, which is now a nature preserve. Each movement of this piece takes its name from one of these inscriptions.

Commissioned by: